Yesterday, the APB, part of the Financial Reporting Council, said it would formally expose six new standards.

When finalised, the standards will supersede SAS 110 ‘Fraud and Error’, SAS 210 ‘Knowledge of the Business’, SAS 240 ‘Quality Control for Audit Work’, SAS 300 ‘Accounting and Internal Control Systems and Audit Risk Assessments’ and SAS 400 ‘Audit Evidence’.

ICAEW president David Illingworth said like the APB, the institute was a ‘strong proponent of the worldwide harmonisation of auditing standards‘.

‘We believe that the adoption of ISAs by the APB will result in an improvement in the quality of audits conducted in the UK and Republic of Ireland. A robust approach to risk, fraud and quality control is particularly important in the light of recent events,’ he added.

ISAs will apply to the audits of all entities in the UK and Ireland, not just listed companies, as is the case with international accounting standards.